Blogger Mary.

Spoiler alert: As they've alluded to through a countdown on their recently relaunched website, '90s post-hardcore band Far are reuniting for two Southern California shows this October under the name Hot Little Pony. That's kind of neat. And while I certainly won't take full credit for it, I do think my e-mail to Jonah Matranga a few months back asking if he would be willing to participate in our "Class Of '98" piece for Far's seminal Water & Solutions album helped kick-start the idea. In fact, Matranga later wrote back to me saying he and the rest of the band were planning to get together "and jam just for fun" after he was interviewed for the retrospective. (If only our special would have a similar effect on Blake Schwarzenbach...)

I won't pretend to know everything about Far, as the only album of theirs I own is Water & Solutions (I seem to recall swiping a copy of their 1996 album Tin Cans And Strings To You from my college radio station but a quick search of my music room earlier tonight didn't turn it up). However, I can say that Water & Solutions is a pretty killer rock record, following in the footsteps of Quicksand and Sacramento, California, scenemates Deftones but adding their own spin on distortion-slathered almost-metal -- mainly, a strong sense of melody from Matranga not seen in most rock singers at the time (remember, this was just about when nu-metal was starting to ruin music forever). Check out these live clips of Water & Solutions songs from a 1998 show at Chicago's famed Metro for proof of the band's musical chops and Matranga's innate vocal talent:

Bury White


Mother Mary


Really Here


Did Far change the world? No. Were they ever really even going to? Not really; their sound, while enjoyable, certainly wasn't the most groundbreaking in their genre. Did they have their fair share of powerful songs, however? Most definitely. Bands like Far, Helmet, Deftones, Quicksand, Seaweed, Handsome, Fireside, etc. (essentially any band who brought the pain in drop-D tuning without pandering to mooks), to me, represent the best kind of music to come out of the '90s -- heavy, aggressive, intelligent rock that's not afraid to show its sensitive side.

With the recent revival of post-Quicksand group Rival Schools as well as Far deciding to strap on their axes once again, it gives me hope that maybe the musical tides can shift ever-so-slightly out of pure, utter, tuneless garbage with no redeeming value whatsoever and begin to re-embrace talented bands who play with passion, energy and skill (while carefully avoiding absolutely horrendous fashion trends). So here's to you, Jonah. Call up Walter and get a Far/Rival Schools co-headlining tour set up for next year, won't ya?

PS: Here's a sweet bonus video of Jonah Matranga performing a cover of Deftones' "be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)" with the help of Ian Love of Rival Schools on guitar. You can tune out around the six-minute mark (the cover takes a pretty big turn for the worse at that point), but everything up to that point is pretty breathtaking. And I don't use that word lightly.